Benzinga | Jan 18, 2022 07:22AM EST

Oppenheimer Upgrades This Theme Park Company

* Oppenheimer analyst Ian Zaffino upgraded Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE:SIX) to Outperform from Perform with a $54 price target, implying a 32.78% upside.

* The analyst believes the company's newly-appointed CEO Selim Bassoul's strategy of "premiumization" is the right one.

* The company has been focused on attendance growth for too long and has neglected obvious pricing opportunities and customer experience improvements, Zaffino said.

* The analyst added that the correct path to sustainable revenue growth appears to be through fewer guests who are willing to pay up for a better product/experience.

* While the strategy will likely drive less attendance, the analyst argues that it should result in significantly stronger pricing.

* Price Action: SIX shares closed lower by 2.09% at $40.68 on Friday.